https://laurentfairon.bandcamp.com/album/klangspektrum-klangexperimenten-unser-zeitgenossenThis is a collection of little known musics from various epochs of the 20th century, all featuring sound experiments of one kind or another. Stylistically varied, their common denominator is a will to experiment with whatever technology was available at the time, forming a wonderful tapestry of noises representative of a noisy century. They've been gathered in this collection as examples of a particular spirit of discovery and some of these recordings are quite rough, being documents and explorations rather than fully polished pieces of music. Admittedly, the flavor of analog overcomes the sheen of computer music.
Most of the tracks compiled here are hard to come by. Some come from library archives (Carl Stumpf, Francis Mazière), some come from specialist blogs or YouTube videos, some from artists' websites. Some have never been available on the web before and were culled from the compiler's own record collection (Wilhelm Keller, Halim El Dabh, Manolo Diaz, Otto Bernstein, John Herbert Leach).
The choice is entrirely personal and doesn't reflect main musical trends of the 20th century like jazz, electronic-, tape- and computer music, etc, which have been documented elsewhere. Rather, this compilation examines the quiet revolutions taking place during the 20th century, while individuals started thinking out of the box, when sound experiments flourished in places where innovation was least expected: children's musical education, anthroposophic circles, tropical jungles, stage music, film soundtrack, commercial ads, etc. Similarly, musical notes started emanating from unusual objects or apparatus like phonograph cylinders or flexi discs ; architecture was sonified ; numbers eventually became sound carriers.
In the past centuries, music innovators have always been curious and adventurous, but their number was limited. During the 20th century, however, statistics exploded and the sheer number of sound innovators rocketed, leading to a myriad of experiments inside or outside traditional music circles. KlangSpektrum seeks to reflect this multiplicity.
credits
Duration: 73mn
Researched, produced and designed by L. Fairon
Paris, France, April–May 2018